Scissor lift that locks at a variable height

ABSTRACT

A scissor lift for raising and lowering a heavy object, including an upper platform for supporting a heavy object, including a release mechanism, and guided rollers mounted on axles, a lower frame including guided rollers mounted on axles, a scissor lift mechanism fastened to the axles of the upper platform guided rollers and to the axles of the lower frame guided rollers, that raises and lowers the upper platform, a locking mechanism including protrusions protruding outward of the upper frame, each protrusion corresponding to a different height of the scissor lift mechanism, wherein at least one guided roller within the upper platform includes a spring-loaded pin for engagement in the protrusions, thereby locking the scissor lift mechanism into place at a height corresponding to the protrusion into which the spring-loaded pin is engaged, and a release mechanism that unlocks the scissor lift mechanism.

PRIORITY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/687,930, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,387,869, entitled LUGGAGE WITHMECHANICALLY INTEGRATED TROLLEY, and filed on Apr. 16, 2015 by inventorAviad Berger.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to luggage, such as a suitcase, with anintegrated trolley that raises and lowers the luggage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional luggage trolleys have several drawbacks. A first drawbackis that a traveler must either bring a trolley with him, or rely on atrolley being available when he needs one.

A second drawback is that a conventional trolley does not enable thetraveler to lift his luggage. Often a traveler wants to put in item intohis luggage or remove an item from his luggage when the luggage is on atrolley, and there is no way to do so other than to either bend down toreach the luggage, or lift the luggage from the trolley onto an elevatedsurface. Similarly, the traveler may be packing or unpacking his luggagewhile it is placed on an elevated surface, and there is no way to closethe luggage and stand it on its wheels other than to lift the luggagefrom the elevated surface and lower it to the floor.

A third drawback is that conventional luggage, when dragged on itswheels by a traveler, leans towards the traveler and the traveler mustbear some of the weight of the luggage.

A fourth drawback is that conventional luggage is pulled behind atraveler, and the traveler cannot see if the luggage collides withanother traveler or an obstacle.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention overcome disadvantages ofconventional luggage trolleys, by providing luggage with an integratedtrolley that has a scissor lifting mechanism for raising and loweringthe luggage on the trolley. The integrated trolley, when not in use,locks compactly to stow alongside a surface of the luggage forconvenient transport. When the integrated trolley is locked, thetraveler can pull the luggage along its wheels in a conventional manner.

Being integrated with the luggage, the trolley is always available tothe traveler whenever he needs it. Having a lifting mechanism, thetrolley raises the luggage, making it convenient for the traveler toinsert an item into the luggage or remove an item from the luggage, andconvenient for the traveler to wheel the luggage around while packing orunpacking the luggage.

The integrated trolley may be pushed or pulled like a cart, therebyrelieving the traveler of bearing any weight of the luggage. Pushing theintegrated trolley in front of the traveler enables the traveler to seewhere the luggage is being pushed and avoid collision with othertravelers or obstacles.

The integrated trolley is lightweight, and thus avoids addingsignificant weight to the luggage.

There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention luggage with an integrated trolley, including a luggage unit,including a piece of luggage, a handle fastened to the piece of luggage,for pushing or pulling the piece of luggage, and luggage wheels fastenedto a first outer surface of the piece of luggage, for rolling the pieceof luggage when a trolley unit is in a stowed position, a trolley unitthat has a stowed position and a non-stowed position, and that, when inthe non-stowed position, locks and unlocks such that the trolley unit isfree to be raised and lowered when it is unlocked, and is not free to beraised and lowered when it is locked, the trolley unit being fastened tothe luggage unit in both the stowed and the non-stowed positions, andincluding a locking mechanism for locking the trolley unit, an uppertrolley body fastened to a second outer surface of the piece of luggage,a scissor lift mechanism fastened to the upper trolley body, that raisesand lowers the upper trolley body, a lower trolley body fastened to thelift mechanism, including trolley wheels for rolling the trolley unitwhen the trolley unit is in the non-stowed position, and guided rollerswithin the upper trolley body and guided rollers within the lowertrolley body, for raising and lowering the lift mechanism when thetrolley unit is unlocked, and a release mechanism extending from theluggage unit to the trolley unit through a slit in the piece of luggage,for unlocking the trolley unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified front view of luggage with an integrated trolley,in non-stowed raised and lowered positions, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified front view of the luggage with the integratedtrolley in a stowed position, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of the luggage of FIG. 1, showing arelease lever to unlock the trolley, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a simplified bottom view of the luggage and trolley of FIG. 1,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a simplified perspective view of an upper trolley body, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a simplified perspective view of a guided roller for use inthe upper trolley body, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a simplified view of a shaft for releasing a guided roller pinfrom being engaged in a protrusion of an upper trolley body, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a simplified view of a guided roller pin in an engaged and ina disengaged position, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of theluggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guided roller pin fromits engaged position by means of a release lever, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a simplified front view of luggage with an integratedtrolley, in raised and lowered positions, in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a simplified view, from the side and from the bottom of theluggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guided roller pin fromits engaged position by means of a handle bar, in accordance with analternate embodiment of the present invention.

For reference to the figures, the following index of elements and theirnumerals is provided. Similarly numbered elements represent elements ofthe same type, but they need not be identical elements.

Table of elements in the figures Element Description 100 luggage unit110 luggage 120 handle for pushing/pulling the trolley 125 handle forpushing/pulling the luggage 130 luggage wheels 140 release lever to opentrolley 142 rod connected to release lever 143 rod in luggage handle 144inclined slideable block 146 spring 148 rod connected to slideable block149 slit through which rod extends out of luggage 150 shaft to releaseengaged pin of guided roller 155 capped shaft pins 200 trolley unit 210upper trolley body 212 studs for fastening luggage unit to trolley unit214 Slit through which rollers of lift mechanism are guided 215protrusions for engaging pin of guided roller 220 lower trolley body 230lift mechanism 240 guided rollers for raising and lowering liftmechanism 242 axles of guided rollers 245 spring-loaded pin of guidedroller 250 trolley wheels 260 axles for a trolley

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to luggage with anintegrated trolley. The trolley locks and unlocks. The trolley includesa lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the luggage when the trolleyis unlocked. The luggage rolls on a set of wheels when pulled by aluggage handle, in the raised and lowered positions. When not in use,the trolley folds to stow compactly along an outer surface of theluggage. The luggage rolls on a different set of wheels when the trolleyis not in use.

The integrated luggage and trolley includes four primary components, asdescribed in detail below; namely, a luggage unit, a trolley unit, alock mechanism and a release mechanism. The luggage unit includes apiece of luggage, a luggage handle and luggage wheels. The trolley unitincludes a lift mechanism for raising and lowering the trolley unit, andtrolley wheels. The luggage unit may be used with or without the trolleyunit. The trolley unit folds to a stowed position, for convenientstowage when not in use, and unfolds to a non-stowed position when inuse. The luggage and trolley units are shown in FIGS. 1-4 and 10. Thelift mechanism of the trolley unit may be locked in place, in which casethe trolley unit cannot be freely raised and lowered. The lock mechanismlocks the lift mechanism, is situated within the trolley unit, and isshown in FIGS. 5-8. The release mechanism unlocks the lift mechanism ofthe trolley unit, so that the trolley unit may be freely raised andlowered. The release mechanism extends from the luggage unit to thetrolley unit through a slit in the piece of luggage, and is shown inFIGS. 9 and 11.

Luggage and Trolley Units

Reference is made to FIG. 1, which is a simplified front view of luggagewith an integrated trolley, in a non-stowed raised position at the leftof FIG. 1 and in a non-stowed lowered position at the right of FIG. 1,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Shown in FIG.1 is a luggage unit 100 including a piece of luggage 110 having aluggage handle 120 for pushing or pulling luggage 110. From theviewpoint of FIG. 1, the outer left, right, top and front faces ofluggage 110 are designated respectively as A, B, C and D.

Luggage unit 100 is fastened to a trolley unit 200 that locks andunlocks. Trolley unit 200 has an upper trolley body 210, a lower trolleybody 220, and a scissor lift mechanism 230 fastened between uppertrolley body 210 and lower trolley body 220. Guided rollers 240 controlraising and lowering of lift mechanism 230. Lift mechanism 230 isfastened to rollers 240 via axles 242 of the rollers. Trolley wheels 250are fastened underneath lower trolley body 220, and serve to rollluggage 110 when luggage handle 120 is pushed or pulled.

Luggage wheels 130 serve to roll luggage 110 when trolley unit 200 isfolded, by pushing or pulling on luggage handle 125 (shown in FIG. 2).

A release lever 140 on luggage 110 serves to unlock trolley unit 200from its locked position. While lever 140 is lifted by a traveler,trolley unit 200 is released from its locked position, and liftmechanism 230 is free to raise and lower. When the traveler stopslifting lever 140, trolley unit 200 locks into place at its currentposition. Operation of release lever 140 is described below withreference to FIG. 9.

Reference is made to FIG. 2, which is a simplified front view of theluggage with the integrated trolley in a stowed position, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows that trolley upperbody 210 and trolley lower body 220 rest together compactly along anouter surface of luggage unit 100, when trolley unit 200 is folded, forconvenient stowage of the trolley when it is not in use. In accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention, folding of trolley unit 200is performed by locking the trolley unit into place when lift mechanism230 is lowered as much as possible. As seen from the relative positionsof the faces A, B and C, the luggage in FIG. 2 is rotated 90° andflipped vis-à-vis the luggage in FIG. 1, since the luggage of FIG. 2rolls along luggage wheels 130, whereas the luggage of FIG. 1 rollsalong trolley wheels 250.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that trolley unit 200may optionally include a latch (not shown) to fasten trolley upper body210 and trolley lower body 220 together when the trolley unit is stowed.

Reference is made to FIG. 3, which is a simplified side view of theluggage of FIG. 1, showing release lever 140 that unlocks the trolley,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The side viewappears at the top of FIG. 3 and, as can be seen at the bottom of FIG.3, release lever 140 connects to a rod 142 inside luggage 110. Operationof release lever 140 and rod 142 is described below with reference toFIG. 9.

Reference is made to FIG. 4, which is a simplified bottom view of theluggage and trolley of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. Shown in FIG. 4 are axles 260 joining front and backparts of lower trolley body 220.

Lock Mechanism

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which is a simplified perspective view ofupper trolley body 210, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer top face of upper trolley body210 includes studs 212 for fastening luggage 110 to upper trolley body210. The bottom face of upper trolley body 210 includes a slit 214through which the top of scissor of lift mechanism 230 moves back andforth. The outer back face of upper trolley body 210 includesprotrusions 215 in which a spring-loaded pin of a guided roller 240 issecurely engaged when the trolley unit is locked, as described below.

FIG. 5 also shows a cross-section of protrusions 215 extending out of aline X-X in the outer back face of upper trolley body 210.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that slit 214 mayalternatively be located on the front face of upper trolley body 214,instead of on the bottom face.

Reference is made to FIG. 6, which is a simplified perspective view ofguided roller 240 for use in upper trolley body 210, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a spring-loadedguided roller pin 245, which engages in one of the protrusions 215 ofupper trolley body 210, as roller 240 slides, to lock the trolley unit.Engagement of roller pin 245 serves to hold roller 240 in place, and tothereby hold scissor lift mechanism 230 in place at a desired height.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that either one orboth of guided rollers 240 in upper trolley body 210 may be equippedwith spring-loaded guided roller pin 245, for engagement within one ofthe protrusions 215. If only one guided roller has a spring-loadedroller pin 245, then it is only necessary for upper trolley body 210 tohave protrusions 215 for half of its extent. If both guided rollers havespring-loaded roller pins, then upper trolley body should haveprotrusions 215 for its full extent.

Release Mechanism

Reference is made to FIG. 7, which is a simplified view of a shaft 150for releasing guided roller pin 245 from being engaged in a protrusionof upper trolley body 210, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 7, protrusions 215 of upper trolleybody 210 are pierced by small holes at their apex. Respective cappedpins 155 are moved in and out of these small holes by shaft 150. Whencapped pins 155 move into these small holes, they eject roller pin 245from whichever protrusion is it engaged in, thereby enabling roller 240move freely, and thereby enabling scissor lift mechanism 230 to freelymove up and down.

In accordance with an embodiment of the subject invention, lifting ofrelease lever 140 mechanically causes shaft 150 to move from theposition shown in the upper portion of FIG. 7 to the position shown inthe lower portion of FIG. 7, and thereby disengages roller pin 245 froma protrusion, and enables scissor lift mechanism to freely move.

Reference is made to FIG. 8, which is a simplified view of guided rollerpin 245 in an engaged position with its spring uncompressed, at theright of FIG. 8, and in a disengaged position with its springcompressed, at the left of FIG. 8, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Reference is made to FIG. 9, which is a simplified view, from the sideand from the bottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, forreleasing guided roller pin 245 from its engaged position by means ofrelease lever 140, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 9, when release lever 140 is lifted, rod 142lowers onto an inclined plane of a slideable block 144. The force of rod142 on the inclined plane causes block 144 to slide rightward. As block144 moves to the right, a spring 146 is compressed. When release lever140 is lowered, rod 142 is raised away from the inclined plane, andspring 146 causes block 144 to slide leftward, back to its restposition. Another rod 148 connects block 144 to shaft, so that slidingof block 144 to the right causes capped pins 155 to eject roller pin 245from whatever protrusion it is engaged in, thereby unlocking liftmechanism 230.

Although rod 142 is contained within luggage 110, rod 148 extends out ofluggage 110 through a small slit 149 at the bottom of luggage 110 thatis sealed by block 144.

The portion of the release mechanism of FIG. 9 inside of luggage 110 ispreferably situated within a covered portion at the bottom of theluggage, thus concealing it from the traveler. The portion of therelease mechanism of FIG. 9 outside of luggage 110 is preferablysituated within a covered portion of trolley unit 200, thus concealingit, too, from the traveler.

One having the benefit of the subject disclosure will appreciate thatthere are many variations of the integrated luggage and trolley of thesubject invention. Thus, although the luggage and trolley describedhereinabove are integrated in a purely mechanical fashion, they mayalternatively be integrated using an electro-mechanical lock and releasemechanism.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, one of the luggagewheels also functions as one of the trolley wheels. In this regard,reference is made to FIG. 10, which is a simplified front view ofluggage with an integrated trolley, in raised and lowered positions, inaccordance with this alternate embodiment of the present invention.

In another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the releasemechanism may use a bar 143 inside handle 120 of the luggage, in whichcase release lever 140 is not required. In this regard, reference ismade to FIG. 11, which is a simplified view, from the side and from thebottom of the luggage, of a release mechanism, for releasing a guidedroller pin from its engaged position by means of a handle bar, inaccordance with this alternate embodiment of the present invention.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to thespecific exemplary embodiments without departing from the broader spiritand scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A scissor lift for raising and lowering a heavyobject, comprising: an upper platform for supporting a heavy object,comprising guided rollers mounted on axles; a lower frame comprisingguided rollers mounted on axles; a scissor lift mechanism fastened tothe axles of said upper platform guided rollers and to the axles of saidlower frame guided rollers, that raises and lowers said upper platform;a locking mechanism comprising protrusions protruding outward of saidupper platform, each protrusion corresponding to a different height ofsaid scissor lift mechanism, wherein at least one of the guided rollerswithin said upper platform comprises a spring-loaded pin for engagementin the protrusions, thereby locking said scissor lift mechanism intoplace at a height corresponding to the protrusion into which thespring-loaded pin is engaged; and a release mechanism that unlocks saidscissor lift mechanism, comprising a shaft, outside of said upperplatform, with capped pins that are bound within said protrusions andthat move further into said protrusions, to disengage said spring-loadedpin from the protrusion into which said spring-loaded pin is engaged,when said shaft is pushed towards said upper platform.
 2. The scissorlift of claim 1 wherein said upper platform comprises a slit throughwhich a top portion of said scissor lift mechanism connects to the axlesof said guided rollers in said upper platform.
 3. The scissor lift ofclaim 1 wherein said release mechanism comprises a release lever that,when lifted, disengages said spring-loaded pin from the protrusion inwhich said spring-loaded pin is engaged, thereby unlocking said scissorlift mechanism.
 4. The scissor lift of claim 3 wherein said releasemechanism comprises: a first rod inside said upper platform that movesdownward when said release lever is lifted; and a second rod thatextends outside of said upper platform through a slit in said upperplatform, and that pushes said shaft towards said upper platform whensaid first rod moves downward.
 5. The scissor lift of claim 4 whereinsaid release mechanism comprises a spring-loaded slideable block with aninclined plane, wherein said first rod presses on said inclined planewhen said first rod moves downward, causing said block to slide in afirst direction, wherein said second rod is connected to said block, andwherein the spring load of said block causes said block to slide in adirection opposite to the first direction when said first rod ceases topress on said inclined plane.
 6. The scissor lift of claim 5 whereinsaid second rod slides in the first direction and in the oppositedirection via the slit in said upper platform.
 7. The scissor lift ofclaim 1 wherein said release mechanism comprises a bar in a handle that,when pushed downward, disengages said spring-loaded pin from theprotrusion in which said spring-loaded pin is engaged, thereby unlockingsaid scissor lift mechanism.
 8. The scissor lift of claim 7 wherein saidrelease mechanism comprises a rod that extends outside of said upperplatform through a slit in said upper platform, and that pushes saidshaft towards said upper platform when said handle bar moves downward.9. The scissor lift of claim 8 wherein said release mechanism comprisesa spring-loaded slideable block with an inclined plane, wherein saidhandle bar presses on said inclined plane when said handle bar movesdownward, causing said block to slide in a first direction, wherein saidrod is connected to said block, and wherein the spring load of saidblock causes said block to slide in a direction opposite to the firstdirection when said handle bar ceases to press on said inclined plane.10. The scissor lift of claim 9 wherein said rod slides in the firstdirection and in a direction opposite to the first direction via theslit in said upper platform.